Ghostly Holiday
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: Autumn shares the wonders of Christmas with her Ghostly Mansion friends. But will everything be as jolly as it seems?


It was a cold and snowy Christmas Eve in Serene Hills, Autumn was filled with warmth and awe as she and her mother Karen looked at their Christmas tree, all decorated for the most wonderful time of the year.

"The tree gets more beautiful every year." said Karen, her arm around her daughter.

"It sure does." said Autumn. Her smile faltered though. She thought about her friends at Ghostly Mansion. Do monsters even celebrate Christmas?

"So...what now, Mom?" asked Autumn.

"Well, I do have to call Santa to do some holiday wrapping for me." said Karen.

Autumn smiled. She knew very well her mother was going to wrap Christmas presents. The Santa card was a classic Christmas code used by this mother and daughter duo.

"Okay, Mom. And I'm going to visit one of Santa's elves at the mall to see how they're doing." Autumn winked. That was Christmas code for; 'I'm going to the mall to do some Christmas shopping.'

With a nod of approval, Karen retreated to her room while Autumn put on her winter clothes. She packed her phone and wallet in her Danny pack and ventured outside.

But Autumn wasn't going to the mall. She had already finished her Christmas shopping. She was going to visit her friends at the Ghostly Mansion.

Once she had her winter clothes on, Autumn left the house and went downtown. After walking around and finding a dark alley with no people around, Autumn rubbed the orange gem on her black ring.

In a flash of light, she was right in front of Ghostly Mansion. Turns out, there was just as much snow in the monster world as there was in the human world! Plenty to play around in! And Autumn had already spotted her monster friends playing in it.

"Autumn! Hey, kiddo!" Jeff O'Lantern greeted with a friendly wave. "You're just in time to make snow goblins!"

"Or go spooky sledding!" Ophelia shouted from the rooftop. She and her sister Cordelia launched themselves on their sled and flew high in the air! They performed several loop-de-loops and glided safely on the snow.

"Wow!" Awe and wonder filled Autumn's eyes.

Cordelia curved her trademark smile. It always had a hint of wicked in it. "And maybe You can help us catch the snow monster that's been lurking around here."

"Snow monster?!" Autumn gulped.

"Yeah, a snow monster." said Jeff, his voice becoming creepy. "He wanders around the monster world looking for tasty victims!"

Just then, a huge, hairy beast jumped out from the snow bank and grabbed Autumn. The girl screamed as the creature lapped Autumn's face with his wet, slimy tongue.

"Hehehehehehahahahahahahahaha!" Autumn laughed as the 'snow monster' licked her ears and neck. "Rocky! Stahahahap!"

The snow monster was really Rocky the werewolf affectionately licking Autumn's face. "Great seeing you again, kiddo!" said Rocky as he helped Autumn up.

"Same here. I missed you guys!" Autumn hugged Rocky.

"How about we make some haunt cocoa?" Ophelia suggested.

"Hot cocoa?! Count me in!" Autumn beamed.

Cordelia shook her head. "Not hot cocoa, kid. Haunt cocoa." she corrected. "It's like human cocoa but monster style."

Autumn shrugged. "Well, whatever you call it, I'm still in! There's nothing like cocoa on a winter day!"

Ophelia clapped her hands. "Yay! And you can help us make it!"

"Double yay!" Autumn cheered.

* * *

Inside Ghostly Mansion, Autumn realized making haunt cocoa was a lot different from making hoy cocoa.

The cocoa was made in a big cauldron cooking under a green fire. Ophelia stirred the cocoa as Cordelia added yellow and purple powder into the mix.

"And now for the secret ingredient!" said Ophelia. "Spooooks!" she sang musically.

Spooks the ghost came in through the ceiling. The top hat wearing ghost got a whiff of what was cooking in the cauldron. "Mmmm! I thought I smelled haunt cocoa! Need my secret ingredient?"

The witch sisters nodded. Autumn just tilted her head.

Spooks hovered above the cauldron. He cleared his throat and let out a ghostly moan into the cocoa. It was the spookiest moan Autumn has ever heard. She felt her arm hairs sticking up.

The haunt cocoa glowed in a bright blue light before fading back to brown.

"Perfect!" said Ophelia.

Autumn smelled the warm, comforting smell. "Wow! It smells like pure joy!"

"And it tastes that way too!" said Jeff.

Everyone gathered in the living room and enjoyed their haunt cocoa. As the monsters chit-chatted with one another, Autumn was amazed by the taste of her cocoa! It was the best cocoa she ever had in her life! With good cocoa, good friends, and the spirit of Christmas swelling her heart, Autumn began humming one of her favorite Christmas songs.

The catchy tune caught all the monsters' attention. They paused their words and turned their attention to Autumn, who was blissfully unaware of her captive audience.

"Autumn," said Rocky.

"Hm?" Autumn stopped humming. "What's up?"

"What was that song you were humming?" asked Rocky. "It's so catchy!"

"Rocking Around the Christmas Tree." said Autumn, a bit surprised. "Y'know, the Christmas song."

The monsters exchanged confused looks to one another. "What's Christmas?" they asked in unison.

Autumn gasped. "Are you guys serious?!"

"No, what's Christmas?" asked Rocky.

"Well, next to Halloween, Christmas is the most wonderful holiday of the year! It's a time where we gather with family and friends to celebrate peace on Earth and good will to all!"

"Wow! That sounds great!" said Ophelia.

"I think I've heard about something that." said Cordelia. "It's a pretty big deal for the humans."

Autumn rubbed her chin. "Y'know, what if we went to the human world to show you what Christmas is all about?"

"What?! No way!" Rocky barked. "We can't go out into the human world with this whole situation!" He gestured to his furry face.

Cordelia stood up. "Not without the right spell. Right, sis?"

Ophelia stood up. "I think I know what you're thinking! Let's make some magic!"

* * *

Back in Serene Hills, Autumn returned. Only this time, she brought company. Thanks to the witch sisters, Jeff, Spooks, and Rocky were well disguised.

Jeff's pumpkin head was replaced with a human one with short red hair, yellow eyes and a slim build. He wore a brown winter coat, pants and shoes. Spooks was a pale skinned human with black eyes and dressed in a dark blue beanie with matching jacket, black pants and boots.

Rocky was particularly comfortable with his new look. He had shaggy black hair, orange eyes, and wore a red hoodie, blue jeans, and Black combat boots. He grinned his toothy smile. "Now this is more like it!" He strummed his electric guitar in joy.

Spooks wobbled on his human legs. "This is going to take some getting used to..."

Jeff looked around and saw all the Christmas lights around town. "This is amazing!"

Ophelia wore a long purple winter coat, fur purple trimmed hat, and black boots. Cordelia had on black earmuffs and was dressed in a black leather jacket, red tights, and black boots.

"It's been a while since I've been out in the human world!" Ophelia said. Her eyes were lit with joy and wonder.

"How long has it been?" asked Autumn.

"Not since the Salem Witch Trials." Cordelia answered.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Rocky barked. "Let's check out this Christmas scene!"

"Hold on, Rocky!" said Autumn. "The best way to enjoy Christmas is to take our time taking it all in."

"She's right, Rock." said Jeff. "Let's go."

Autumn and her monster friends walked around Serene Hills to take in all the holiday cheer. And they were loving every second of it! The lights, the trees, the friendly townsfolk. It was like a dream come true!

"This is amazing!" said Jeff, waving to a cheery mother and daughter. "The humans aren't even a little scared of us!"

"Duh! 'Cause we're in cognito." said Rocky.

"And humans don't believe in monsters around this time of year." Autumn said. "Unless you count the ghosts of Christmas like in a Christmas Carol."

Spooks turned to Autumn. "A Christmas Carol?"

"It's a ghost story for Christmas. You'd like it! They made dozens of books and movies about it." Autumn smiled. "In fact, I think I saw a DVD of it at home! We can pick it up and watch it at Ghostly Mansion!"

Ophelia blinked. "But we don't have a DVD player."

"Oh. Well, maybe we can find a copy of the book at the mall." Autumn suggested. "Let's go."

* * *

The gang of friends ventured to Serene Hills mall. Rocky saw a group of carolers singing outside the mall. Placed in front of them was a open suitcase full of tip money. But Rocky didn't notice the suitcase as he was moving to the beat of the the catchy carols.

"Wow! Those guys are good!" Rocky howled.

"They sure are!" said Jeff.

"I wish we could join them!" Spooks said, tapping his foot to the rhythm.

"I'm pretty sure you can." said Autumn. "Why don't you guys sing along with the carolers and we'll be at the book store.?"

"It's a deal!" Rocky grabbed Jeff and Spooks and joined the carolers.

Ophelia looked back as the monsters in disguise were welcomed by the humans. "You think they'll be okay?"

"Sure, they're monsters. They can take care of themselves." said Autumn.

"Yeah," said Cordelia. "and anyone who tries to mess with them is in for a nasty surprise."

Ophelia considered this, then nodded in agreement.

* * *

It's been twenty minutes since the girls left. And the boys were having fun. As they sang and Rocky strummed, more and more people gathered and donated more money. They finished singing and their audience clapped and cheered.

"Now that was fun!" said Rocky as he took a bow. "No wonder this Christmas thing is such a hoot!"

"We should do this more often!" said Jeff.

Suddenly, one of the carolers screamed. "HEY! Where's the suitcase?!"

Rocky, Jeff, and Spooks spun around and saw that the suitcase of tip money was gone!

"Someone stole the cash!" screamed another caroler.

"I'm on it!" Rocky got down on all fours and sniffed the ground. He quickly picked up the scent of dollar bills and hints of sweaty palms. "Bingo!" He took off running while Jeff and Spooks followed.

In another part of town, a surly little man wearing a black beanie and a brown trench coat shuffled down a dirty, slush filled sidewalk. He made sure no one was behind him. In his hand was the stolen suitcase. He turned into an alley to get to his dismal when he stopped in his tracks, horror twisted his face.

Blocking his path to the doorway was Rocky. But he wasn't in his human disguise. He was all werewolf. But to the thief, he looked like a vicious, snarling dog. He backed away until he bumped into Jeff and Spooks...and they weren't disguised either.

The thief took one look at Jeff's pumpkin head and screamed. He tried to run with the suitcase, but Spooks dove into the ground and came up in front of the thief's path.

With trembling arms, the thief hugged the suitcase close to his chest as the monsters surrounded him. "I-Is this some kind of joke?!" he asked, his eyes impossibly wide.

"You wish." a snide voice said from above.

Looking up, the thief saw Cordelia and Ophelia on their broomsticks. The witches watched in amusement seeing the man rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Ahem."

The thief spun around and saw Autumn. She crossed her arms and frowned at the would-be robber. "You better put that suitcase down or else."

Desperate, the thief pulled out a gun! Autumn tensed, her heart dropped. But before she could leap away from the man's aim, Rocky grabbed the man's arm and pulled it up. Ophelia used her magic to turn the gun into a bird. The thief yelped when the gun turned bird flew away into the night.

Ophelia landed her feet on the ground. Pink magic filled her eyes as she gritted her teeth together. "You dare shoot one of MY FRIENDS?!" she roared in anger. She clutched her broom handle so hard, her magic surged through it. "You reap what you sow!" She smacked her broom hard across his face, sending the man curdling into a pile of trash.

"Whoa..." Autumn breathed, taken back by the aftermath of Ophelia's rage.

Cordelia gave a pat on her sister's back. "Impressive. Didn't know you had it in you."

Ophelia managed to calm down, her eyes returned to their sweet innocence again. "Yeah, guess I got a little carried away."

"But you saved Autumn from a bullet!" said Rocky. "You should have whacked him a thousand more and then call it even!"

"But nonetheless, we got the money." said Autumn. "Now, let's go return it."

* * *

Autumn went back to the mall and returned the suitcase back to the carolers. "Here you go, guys. Safe and sound!"

"Thank you so much!" said a middle-aged woman. "How did you get it back?!"

"Well, it wasn't easy. But some real good people managed to bring it back." said Autumn.

After the money was returned, Autumn and her friends walked back to her house. "Sorry if our holiday plans got derailed."

"Don't say that, Sweetie." said Ophelia. "We still have the whole month to celebrate Christmas together!"

Autumn sighed. "Yeah, I just wish you could spend it with my mom. That way, we can enjoy it as one big happy family!"

"It's cool." said Jeff. "Well, here we are, Autumn."

The monsters arrived at Autumn's house. Just as they walked Autumn to the porch, the front door swung open and Karen poked her head out.

"Mom!" Autumn turned to her friends to make sure they were well disguised. "I-I'm sorry I was gone for so long!" She was relieved to see her mother smile instead of frown.

"It's okay, Honey! I was just about to call you but I you came back just in time!" She looked at the disguised monsters. "Who are they?"

"Oh! We're...Christmas carolers!" said Rocky. He took out his guitar and strummed a few notes. "We were just in the neighborhood playing some holiday tunes!"

Karen clapped her hands together. "Oh, I love Christmas carolers! Have you come to sing for us?"

"Uh, yeah! That's right!" said Autumn. She joined her mother on the porch. "Let's hear some Christmas spirit!"

The monsters smiled. Autumn hoped her friends could carry a Christmas tune. Or this was going to get very awkward.

The monsters began singing the most hauntingly beautiful notes she's ever heard. Then Rocky played his guitar and they broke out in her favorite Christmas song; Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.

Autumn's heart melted. It was the song that started it all.

Karen was swayed by the wonderful music, she started to dance! Autumn laughed and danced with her mother.

Soon the monsters sang and danced with their human friends under the stars and moonlight. After several minutes of singing, dancing, and laughing, the holiday dance party ended.

"Thank you so much!" said Karen, applauding. "You folks were wonderful!"

Yeah! You made this the best Christmas ever!" Autumn said with a happy heart.

"Anything for you, Autumn!" Rocky said without thinking. "You're the best Christmas gift anyone could ever have!"

"She sure is." Karen said, hugging her daughter. "But how did you all get acquainted with Autumn?"

The monsters struggled to find an answer. But Autumn answered for them. "They're...the presidents of my school's glee club! They've been giving me singing lessons after class."

"I see, no wonder you're such great singers!" said Karen. Autumn silently breathed in relief. "Would you like to join us for Christmas Eve dinner? I made a lasagna!"

"We'd love to!" said Jeff. He and the rest of the Ghostly Mansion went inside for a delicious holiday meal.

* * *

It was Christmas morning. Autumn and Karen woke up bright and early to open presents.

Karen laughed when she took out her gift from Autumn. "Bunny slippers! How cute! Thank you, Honey! I love them!" She happily put them on.

"And I love my new roller skates!" Autumn put on her sparkly purple skates and did a few laps around the room. "Thanks, Mom!"

There was knocking at the door. Autumn rolled up and much to her surprise, it was her Ghostly Mansion friends in their human disguises!

"Guys! What are you doing here?!" asked Autumn.

"We came to visit you for Christmas!" said Ophelia. "Hope you don't mind!"

Karen came to the door. "Not at all! Come on in! I use some extra hands to make Christmas dinner anyway!"

"Yeah! Good thing Mom got a turkey for today." said Autumn as she welcomed her friends in. "You guys wolfed down that lasagna last night!"

Rocky licked his lips. "You got that right!"

Everyone laughed as they enjoyed this Christmas day. Autumn couldn't be happier for her true Christmas wish came true. That everyone, her family and friends would come together to enjoy the most wonderful day of the year.

* * *

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone! :)**


End file.
